Come What May
by Bee.Eh.Vee
Summary: Freshening up old cases and old friendships bring together two teams after they stumble into each other on the same case file.
1. Chapter 1

**Come What May**

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters or the shows.

* * *

 _Chapter 1_

The darkness coupled with the smoky atmosphere contrasted with the single light hanging above the table. The combination of dim and bright made the six people seated around the table feel as though nothing existed past their puddle of light. Crackling silence added to the ambiance as no one moved more than necessary.

That stillness was interrupted when the barrel of a shotgun intruded into the circle. A click signalled its presence as it had slipped in unannounced and possibly uninvited.

A pair of blue eyes under blonde brows rolled upwards from focussing on the table to meet the business end of the shotgun until they stared directly at each other. A smirk formed below the eyes as a pair of hands raised from the table. The head tipped to the side as if asking permission. The barrel gave a short jerk upwards, granting it.

The left hand reached across and tugged down the right sleeve. The right repeated the motion with the other side. When the shotgun retreated, the smirk grew into a grin and the hands reached out to drag in the pile of poker chips residing in the middle of the table.

Four other people showed their displeasure in various, but muted ways. After all, this was the purpose of the night's activity: play until only one was left. It just hadn't happened in the normal way and the four felt a bit cheated by the lack of entertainment. Nonetheless, they each left the table with lighter bank accounts, except for the one who left $8 million heavier.

* * *

"…Come look at this." A hand gestured at the tablet. "Look at the results I have when I ran the fingerprints."

"Neil Diamond" A face came along with the ID that matched their body.

"We assume there's no relation." The comment came from behind the pair. "Now, I was logged in to your system when I ran the fingerprints, not realizing that I was repeating the analysis. Look what I got." A hand from the back gestured to the computer screen. A similar picture showed but with a different name.

"Detective Marty Deeks?"

* * *

Callen stretched and grunted at the stiffness in his neck. Things were moving quickly; normally this was nice – cases were solved quicker, paperwork was cut back, and the higher-ups had to begrudgingly admit that the unit was useful. This time things were different because they were working with rapidly changing factors and a limited support staff.

"A day late and a dollar short." He mumbled to himself. Mrs. Jasper, one of his foster moms, loved her sayings and that was one of her favourites. It was used often to describe her sister that was always either tardy, broke, or both. Callen was feeling like if Mrs. Jasper walked in the room, she'd tsk at him, tug his clothes in an attempt to pull out the wrinkles, and hand him a couple dollar bills for the vending machine.

He rolled out of his dive motel room's bed and headed for the bathroom. If he kept his eyes shut he could pretend he was still sleeping. "A day late" he mumbled again. Not having Eric or Nell to work their wizardry the night before to get him on the same plane meant he was in the wrong city the next morning. He was driving to the airport when Sam called to bug him about not picking him up for work. Apologizing, he begged off sick and earned himself a lecture from his partner. But he'd bought himself 24 hours.

Then Hetty called. That excuse didn't fly with her so he played the only card he could without digging himself deeper into trouble.

 _"It's for McCoy." Callen said quietly._

 _Hetty sighed. Then she sighed again, only deeper this time. "Oh."_

 _"I didn't mean for this to happen, it just…"_

 _"Fell into Mr. Deeks' lap?"_

 _It was Callen's turn to sigh. "Yes. He didn't know, of course."_

 _"How could he?" Hetty asked, then paused. "You keep me in the loop and check in." It was permission, of sorts._

 _"I know."_

 _"No, I mean it. There's good people out there and I expect you to use them."_

 _"Yes, Hetty."_

 _"Does he know?"_

 _"Not yet. I didn't get a chance. I might need some support."_

 _"You have it."_

 _"Also, can you tell Sam? But later?"_

 _"I will. Stay safe."_

Callen had ended the call and hopped the first flight he could. The stress of the night caught up with him when his feet touched the tarmac and he had found the first place he could and crashed for a three hour nap. That, combined with a fresh set of clothes and a snack from the vending machine put him in a much better mindset. With a destination in mind, he checked out of the motel and pointed his rental towards it.

* * *

The pair looked down at the body. Then they looked at each other. Unsure of what to do, they called up a third.

"Got anything for us?"

The voice came through the speaker of the cell, tinny and quiet. "The identity is not confirmed, nor do we know anything past what we learned at the scene. Come back and we'll regroup at the office. Give a head's up to security to keep a look out. I got a feeling about this one."


	2. Chapter 2

**Come What May**

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters or the shows.  
 **A/N:** Thanks to frostfalcon, Sweet Lu, TMVH50, wotumba1, Guest, knirbenrots, and sassyzazzi for leaving reviews on the first chapter!

* * *

 _Chapter 2_

Only having a general sense of where he was heading does not make for an efficient journey. Callen grimaced into the coffee he'd picked up along the way. He knew what area the office was in and he knew his contact. A partial smile touched his eyes when he saw what he was looking for and it was close to an open parking spot. Slurping the last of his near-cold coffee, he pitched the empty cup in a garbage can along the sidewalk. The guard at the gate watched him with a posture that suggested fatigue but eyes that were fully alert. Callen jammed his hand in his back pocket and watched the tension build in the man's shoulders. Once close enough to not be overheard, Callen flipped open his ID and asked for his contact. The guard asked him to wait as opened the door; Callen liked what he saw through the wrought iron gate and the guard smiled at Callen's approving gaze. He nodded towards the big doors and locked the door behind him.

"Chris! Where's the Lego?" Callen called out.

LaSalle pushed out of his chair and his long stride ate up the distance. He pulled Callen into a strong handshake. "What're you doin' this far to th'east?"

Callen laughed as his ear tuned to LaSalle's unique accent. "What else? Chasing a lead."

"Hey King, bring an extra cup!" Chris called out as he smacked Callen on the back.

"I'm comin'. Hold your horses." A man came around the corner with his fingers tucked into more mugs than he theoretically could carry.

"Dwayne Pride." Callen smirked. "Why am I not surprised your still haunting this city?"

Pride paused and shrugged. "It gets its hooks into you and never lets go."

Callen took a mug and Pride maneuvered his finger out. "I think it's a mutual connection."

LaSalle winked at Callen over the rim of his mug while Pride rolled his eyes. "Sonja…Sonja! You're tea's getting cold!"

Callen raised his brows at LaSalle who grinned while answering, "We've expanded our team here."

A thundering noise came from above as a flash came down the stairs. "I'm comin'!" She wrapped her hands around the offered mug. "Who's this?"

LaSalle gestured towards Callen. "This is Special Agent Callen all the way from Cal-ee-fornia." Chris pulled out the vowels. "He's been kickin' around NCIS for a while now. And this is Special Agent Sonja Percy. She's a transfer from ATF." He leaned towards Callen and 'whispered' "She saw the light." He leapt back just in time to miss the backhand to the shoulder from Percy.

Pride smiled. "We also have another, Meredith Brody, but she's gone for a week."

Callen took a sip and enjoyed the smooth taste of well-made coffee. "I hope you don't mind me dropping in." He caught the glances and shook his head. "I know, you're known for your hospitality across the agency. I won't do anything to tarnish that image."

"Remind us again what you're doin' out there on the west coast?" Pride leaned against his desk. "It's been awhile since that seminar."

A grimace formed on Callen's face. "Don't remind me. It took me a week to clean all that paint out of my ear and another month for Sam to shut up about it."

Pride barked a laugh. "Never go huntin' against our 'Bama boy, even if it is just with paintball guns."

LaSalle's grin widened. "You looked so comfortable in the shade of that tree, I almost left you."

Callen clenched his jaw and looked up at the ceiling. "I was under three layers of foliage in camo and hadn't moved in an hour. There was nothing there to see!" He shook his head. "Never mind. I'm not rehashing this…again." He gave a pointed stare at LaSalle.

Percy caught the wink LaSalle threw her way and she smirked. "Anyway, back to the first question, what do you do in California?"

Callen grabbed a hold of the change in subject. "Same as you, catch bad guys. Only we're a bit sneaky about it."

"Ha. Sonja, you are looking at a member of the Office of Special Projects."

She gave a slow nod. "I've heard about that branch. Headed up by a real dragon lady-type."

"That'd be Hetty Lange. Watch what you say, she has ears everywhere. Our liaison found that out the hard way when she popped up on his screen. He slammed the laptop shut. Surprisingly, he's still alive and working with us." A shadow flittered across his face but it was gone in an instant.

A form appeared at the door and Pride acknowledged the person. "I'd love to keep catching up, but we caught a case."

Callen waved away the apology. "Actually, I'm also here on a case. I was wondering if I could borrow some space and maybe some insight once I get settled."

"Not a problem. Chris, show him to the conference room."

LaSalle pointed up the stairs and Callen followed to a bright sun-lit room. He looked down through the windows into their bullpen. "Nice spot." He set his laptop on the large conference table and logged in. LaSalle opened an NCIS program and logged in Callen as a visitor to the office which granted him access to their databases and wifi.

Callen settled himself into a chair that overlooked the office and watched as LaSalle hustled back down the stairs. They must have caught an important case, but Callen's was pretty serious too so he focussed on his own work instead of paying attention to theirs.

* * *

LaSalle reached the floor just as pleasantries were exchanged. "Detective Monroe." Chris shook hands with the slight woman, wincing at her grip that was unexpectedly strong.

"I have the case files loaded on this." She held up a USB which Percy took charge of, loading it into the computer and shooting it to the screen below the room where Callen was already buried in his work. Monroe turned to Pride, "King, I really appreciate the assist with this. We're still trying to catch up to the serial kidnappings down by the docks, and then this falls in our lap." As with most of the law enforcement officers in the city of a certain age, Monroe and Pride went way back. "Cap almost pulled out what little remains of his hair when the call came in."

Pride tipped his head. "It's jurisdictionally-iffy for us to take the lead, seeing as the warehouses around the docks are out of our purview but there are enough contractors for the Navy scattered through the area that we can justify our involvement. Plus, our case load is low right now."

"Well, our team thanks you for this. We'll owe you one if you can wrap it up before anyone finds out we off-loaded this to you." She directed Percy to the files she wanted open. "This is what we know: at 1:00 last night, a large group of people descended on this warehouse. From the street cameras, which did not offer a great view, we learned that six large SUVs dropped off five people with security and a pair with some briefcases. They entered the building, stayed for an hour, and then five of the six vehicles left. The last SUV left half an hour later, drove two blocks, and then was rammed into the side of building by a stolen pick-up truck. It was called in, fire and rescue cleared the scene, and that's when we called you."

"Because the building that was damaged is that of a naval contractor." Pride picked up the narrative. "We contacted the representative and reviewed the space. No contents were missing and it appears that the company was not targeted." He grimaced. "We can stay on the case, but it's loose."

"I know you've done some work on this already." Monroe's eyes sharpened on Pride. "What did you find out?"

"Actually, not much. The accident did a number and the identities are still being confirmed. We're getting a bit of a run-around." Pride shook his head. "Doc Wade and Sebastian were just getting started this morning."

"Your clearance for the vehicle and the crime scene are through. We're still working on a subpoena to get into the warehouse. I'll let you know when it comes." Handshakes were exchanged again then Monroe left them to their work.


	3. Chapter 3

**Come What May**

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters or the shows.  
 **A/N:** Thanks to wotumba1, ivanacindy, Sweet Lu, frostfalcon, sassyzazzi, basicnsync, and anonkp for the reviews!

* * *

 _Chapter 3_

Callen blew out a frustrated breath. Eric would've had the information he needed in a matter of minutes, but Callen was out of town and out of touch. Contacting the LA techs would set him back further than he already was due to explanations and hurt feelings. So instead, he sat and filled out a form requesting a phone trace. He pulled the number from his contacts, which had been hastily typed in before Deeks leapt out of the back of the taxi. Deeks had been buzzing to go but Callen had insisted; he grimaced at the thought that he was the careful, cautious one of the pair. The 'Sam'.

The next slot was waiting patiently for an answer and he debated before entering 'assigned to UC' as the owner of the phone. He added the case file number Hetty had allocated through email. The last slot asked for a purpose and he typed 'location needed'.

"I wouldn't have to go through this if you'd just answer your phone." Callen muttered under his breath as he sent the request. He glared at his cell, blaming it for not connecting him with Deeks. The computer dinged alerting him to a message.

 _Your request will be processed in the order it has been received._

Callen bit back a curse at the second part.

 _Request #08-9756, Position 361_

His trace was 361st in line at the lab. So basically no chance of getting an answer anytime soon. This was why they had their own crew in LA and didn't rely on the central NCIS lab. He weighed the cost of calling in Eric and discarded it again. Instead, he opened up some databases and began the tedious process of running backgrounds on the key players.

* * *

The second time through the crime scene yielded no new information. The street had been dark the first time so the police department had brought in flood lamps. The sunlight wasn't as harsh and the shadows weren't as sharp. The heat warmed their NCIS jackets and LaSalle scratched at the sweat building under his camera strap. Percy compared the photos of the tire tracks taken on her phone the night before to the ground and shrugged.

"The truck was parked over there," Percy pointed down the road, "and waited until the SUV turned here." She placed herself in the intersection. "The truck floored the gas and made contact with the back of the SUV." The tire marks from the take-off could be seen clearly in the daylight but officers had walked with flashlights to find them the previous night.

"The passenger side of the SUV hit the building and the front end buried into a support post." LaSalle snapped a picture of the hole left by the vehicle. The metal sheeting had peeled open like a can and wrapped around the concrete and rebar post. Security guards loitered around the opening, protecting the contractor's secrets.

Percy shaded her eyes as she turned in a new direction. "The driver of the SUV ran off but the blood trail disappears around the corner. We don't know whether the truck driver followed or went in a different direction."

"We do know both left the SUV's passenger in the vehicle." LaSalle scanned the ground under where the SUV had sat the night before. Crime scene techs had finished their sweep, but a public road was not a pristine scene.

"Impound lot next?" Percy's idea was met with a nod so they moved on.

* * *

The impound lot was next…ish. LaSalle had detoured them through a shake shack and as they waited for their drinks Percy stared at LaSalle with a smile.

"What now?" Chris rolled his eyes. "I went and found a place that has all the vegan stuff you like."

"And it is appreciated." Sonja was happy that LaSalle had went through the effort to find a series of snack huts that she would eat from. It was self-preservation for him because she had decided to start nagging him about his eating habits. She'd get them all eating a little healthier regardless of the whining. "But it's not what I was thinking about."

LaSalle cocked an eyebrow.

"How did you find Callen in that exercise? He seems mighty bent out of shape about it."

A grin spread across his face. "See, now, he assumes that he was there first."

Percy rolled her eyes. "Gotta get up pretty early to beat Country Mouse."

"Don't you forget it." LaSalle punctuated his statement with a wink. He accepted the cups from the counterman as Percy grabbed the straws. They swapped and climbed into LaSalle's truck. He pointed the hood towards the police's impound lot which was a short drive down the road.

Monroe was right, all clearances had been made and they were directed to a shaded corner where the SUV and truck were parked. The techs were at work pulling prints, taking pictures, and measuring everything. They volunteered to take a coffee break so the agents could have a look.

LaSalle shook his head at the spatter. "No wonder the passenger was so messed up. Look at the blood on the dash." He pointed at the spot and Percy scowled.

"And the driver gets away clean." Percy turned to the truck. "This one was set for the hit. Either the guy driving was a giant or they jacked the seat as far back as possible so the airbag wouldn't do as much damage."

"Y'know what bothers me?" LaSalle dropped his hands on his hips and bit the inside of his cheek.

Percy folded her arms. "What?"

"What's the point? Obviously the truck person didn't bother with the passenger and no bodies have dropped in the area so they may have ignored the driver too. Why ram a vehicle so hard it blows out a wall?"

"We may have an answer." One of the techs circled back from the picnic table. "We found a briefcase jammed under the passenger seat. We didn't see it until the SUV was towed into the lot and we took the doors off. It's a computer that's been damaged."

"Could Patton crack it?" Percy asked.

The tech nodded. "I think so. The drive's probably intact but the unit is useless. He'll have to pull it." The tech scratched his leg with his toe. "I could swing by and drop it off." At Percy's narrowed eyes he ducked his head and lowered his voice. "He agreed to help me with my computer analysis course. I'm a bit behind."

"Thanks. Tell 'im to call when he gets something." LaSalle agreed.

The tech nodded and ran to grab the evidence bag. Percy and LaSalle walked around the vehicles once more then dialed Pride.

* * *

"Loretta, any news?" Pride cleared the door to the autopsy room to find the good doctor at her desk.

She pulled her shoulders up in a shrug. "Nothing. I think I'm being stonewalled."

Pride raised his brows, "You? Nah."

"Dwayne, I don't have friends everywhere." She waggled a finger at him. "But that doesn't mean I haven't learned anything." She waved him towards the screen. "I took a look at the x-rays and the on-site evaluation was correct. A head contusion caused bleeding. However, the injury to the leg is debatable. Some of it was caused by the accident but the efforts to extricate him from the vehicle didn't help. I'm not blaming them, it was a hard call but there is some extra tissue damage that could've been avoided."

"But it all came from the accident and after?" Pride pointed at the break in the bone.

"Yes. Prior to the accident there weren't any injuries. I don't have a full set of x-rays yet which is making an ID difficult. Some of those identifying features help."

Pride's phone rang and he put it on speaker. Percy recounted what they did, or didn't, learn at the sites and Doc Wade added her findings. "It seems we're at an impasse. Go back to the office."


	4. Chapter 4

**Come What May**

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters or the shows.  
 **A/N:** Thanks to TMVH50, ivanacindy, and wotumba1 for dropping reviews.

* * *

 _Chapter 4_

Callen dragged a hand down his face. The adrenaline from the morning's dash was fading and it was being replaced by boredom. The backgrounds hadn't been much help and his request had moved up 22 spots. He had a better handle on their targets but without the inside knowledge stored in Deeks' head there wasn't anything new. For the last few minutes he'd been replaying the events that had led him to a new city.

* * *

 _24 hours earlier_

Deeks threw a crumpled piece of paper at Callen. Sam and Kensi were engrossed in their work and it was a quiet way to get his attention. He tipped his head and Callen gave a small nod. A good push off of the floor caused his chair to squeak. Two heads stayed buried in paper and computers. Deeks stood and loped over towards the shooting range where he settled headphones on his head and fired off a few rounds. Callen slipped in when he dropped the clip.

"What's up?" Callen leaned his hip against the divider.

Deeks settled against the opposite divider. "The pizza place paid off."

An eyebrow raised. "Really?"

"They're starting up again. First round's tonight."

"Why now? I thought you said they were out of the game completely." Callen was surprised, which wasn't unexpected. It had been a long shot when they'd discussed the idea over a street meat at the beach.

"The demand's there and I may have thrown my weight behind resurrecting it."

Callen's eyes narrowed. "This wasn't supposed to be an active case. It was observation only."

Deeks shifted with impatience. "I've known these guys for years. A gentle nudge was all it took." He folded his arms. "I missed them the first time because I didn't have any support." His words were soft but the challenge hung in the air.

"I'll back your play, but we have to…"

"Please don't say 'be careful'." Deeks rolled his eyes. "I think we're past that. This isn't our first rodeo." Deeks stood straight and pointed a finger at Callen. "And I remember this whole deal being your idea."

Callen couldn't argue. He was the one who suggested Deeks get back into contact with the group. "When's the meet?"

"5:30. I need some clothes."

"Get them from the closet, we'll ask for forgiveness from Hetty later." Callen closed his eyes. "I'll drop you off in the taxi, that'll give us some time to plan."

Deeks' face split with a grin. He smacked Callen's shoulder and left him there. He had a good feeling about this. Last time he'd been a fresh undercover officer and he hadn't had the experience to crack the ring. Now he had back-up and knew what he was doing. This was the opportunity to go back and right a wrong.

* * *

It was messy but somehow they made it through. Sam and Kensi had plans and Hetty was distracted by upper management. Deeks had swiped the ID he needed from his stash that he brought with him from LAPD as well as packed a bag of clothes from Hetty's closet. Callen requisitioned the town car taxi from the pool and filed under an old case.

On the way to the meet Deeks had verbal diarrhea-d what he knew onto an audio file while Callen drove. They made it just in time and Deeks was bordering on late when Callen forced him to record his cell number and turn on the mic that would let Callen hear what was happening.

For the first bit it was going well. Deeks slipped back into character easily and there was the type of camaraderie that develops over years. The first hiccup was the location. What Deeks didn't know was that the meet was set for New Orleans, not LA. Which meant a plane. Deeks' seat was booked but Callen's scramble came up empty. Then, just as Callen had accepted their separation, the bomb hit. He gulped when the name was thrown out so innocently. Deeks didn't know. It was before his time at NCIS. Callen's stomach clenched and he nearly called the whole thing off but then Deeks was already boarding.

Nothing. There was nothing he could've done except what he did. Fight the building panic and find the next seat out even when it meant staking out the ticket desks. Flashing his badge didn't work when there was no flights until the morning. He had spent the time in the airport pacing and recalling everything he knew. He almost called the agent assigned to that case but he didn't want to wake him or raise his hopes. No, they had to tie this one in a bow.

First, though, he had to talk to Deeks.

He banged a hand off the table and dropped his head into his hands. No communication was driving him mad. A small voice in his head pointed out that this was what Hetty dealt with when he went rogue but he told that voice to shut it.

"I see you're havin' as much fun as us." LaSalle gave him a grim smile.

Callen stood and paced. "No further ahead than I was this morning. You?"

"More questions, no answers." Chris shook his head. "You need anything? Coffee? Snack?"

"A phone trace would be nice. The central lab is behind." Callen waved a hand. "I know, I shouldn't be surprised."

LaSalle walked around the table to Callen's laptop. "Why didn't you ask sooner? We have an in-house expert. May I?" After Callen waved for him to use it, LaSalle pulled up a video chat and waited until a face showed. "Hey Triple-P, Callen, here, from Cali needs a phone trace. He's good people."

"Then I am here to help." Patton waggled his fingers in the air. "Give me the number and watch these boys dance."

"Good luck." LaSalle strode out of the room and down to his desk.

Callen read the number off and Patton typed away. A moment of silence stretched until Patton read off the last known location. "Do you want directions?"

"That'd be great, thanks." Callen waited as Patton sent them to his phone. "I appreciate the help."

* * *

Pride jammed his hands into his pocket and looked down at the body. He heaved a sigh. "What's your story? It'd help to know." His head down, he heard footsteps enter the room.

"Deeks?"

"Callen?"

In unison, "What are you doing here?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Come What May**

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters or the shows.  
 **A/N:** Thanks to ivanacindy, sassyzazzi, TMVH50, wotumba1, and nonna99 for the reviews. To celebrate, here's another chapter.

* * *

 _Chapter 5_

 _"What are you doing here?"_

The question hung over Deeks' body with Pride on one side and Callen on the other. They stood, staring at each other until a nurse bustled in. She reviewed the chart, noted vitals, and checked bandages. The men shifted out of her way when necessary but stayed quiet as she worked.

Callen asked softly "How is he?"

"Unconscious. Doctors operated on his leg early this morning." She scratched a note on the chart. "They're confident about his recovery. If he's a friend, I wouldn't worry if I was you."

"Thanks." They waited in silence until she left.

"His name is Deeks?" Pride leaned back on his heel, watching Callen process the scene in front of him.

"Detective Marty Deeks. He's the reason I'm in town." Callen scanned his partner, stark against the white sheets. "Why are you here?"

"We caught a case and found him."

Callen blew out a breath and reached an arm around to scratch the back of his head. He glanced out the door at the posted guard. "You ran his prints?"

"Neil Diamond is not a good person." Pride skirted the foot of the bed and came beside Callen. "Let's go back to the office and fill in the blanks. The staff already have instructions to call when he wakes up."

Callen conceded with a nod. He walked out to the nurses' station where he left his contact information in addition to Pride's team. Pride called Doc Wade to give her the news and that she could stop chasing an ID. He turned away from Callen and asked her to come check on the detective if she had time. She promised she would.

* * *

The sun was setting when the team gathered around the lower screen where Callen organized his thoughts. He had made the decision to loop Hetty in since the case had taken a turn. She was tucked away in one of her offices where no one would overhear the conversation. Her face showed in the bottom corner of the screen as she sipped from her tea cup, contents unknown.

"Detective Marty Deeks, LAPD and liaison to NCIS. He joined our team after a particularly nasty clash between the two organizations. However, before us, he spent the majority of his time on undercover stints. During one of them, he somehow managed to win an ownership stake in a pizza restaurant that is actually a money laundering operation. The crew went cold for quite a few years until yesterday." Callen tapped the controls to move to the next picture of three men smiling for the camera under a 'Now Open' sign. "Deeks is on the left. Sam Spade is in the middle, and Jonas Hart is on the right." He rolled his eyes at the false identities. "Sam is actually Samuel Ortega and Jonas' real name is Johnny Patel. Together the three are known as 'The Club' in certain circles but the restaurant is named 'Pizza Joint'."

"We should see if these are the two on the security video." Pride had told Callen about it on the way back to the office but he hadn't seen it yet.

Callen tapped to the next picture. It was a taken from a distance and showed a group of men in suits milling around a fenced-in courtyard. "They run a match-making service for money laundering." He paused, uncertain how to explain.

Hetty spoke up from her corner of the screen. "Mr. Callen, if you'll allow me." He nodded and she took up the story. "There was pressure a few years ago on the movement of funds in the LA area. Many of the agencies agreed to focus on illegal, or dirty if you'd rather, money. Taskforces cut supply lines, shut down front business, and generally made it difficult to clean funds."

Callen picked up the monologue. "This is how Deeks explained it to me; he was undercover as a gambler on a completely different operation. He ran into Samuel and Johnny and they started talking about the problems facing the underworld. Later, while Deeks was winning a restaurant off of a mob-affiliate, Samuel came up with the idea of creating a new way to launder money."

"The taskforces were efficient and effective. They were cleaning out accounts and closing any business that had an iota of illegitimacy." Hetty continued.

"Patterns." Callen bit out the word. A flood of memories spooled through his mind as he recalled the many close calls over his career and his friends' lives that could be traced back to regularity.

"Correct, Mr. Callen. Much like washing clothes, there is a pattern to money laundering." She held up her hands at the left side of the screen. "Money is earned by an organization," she relocated her hands to the center of the screen, "they send it through a cleaning cycle," her hands moved to the right, "and clean money is used for other purposes. The taskforce identified business and accounts used for the cleaning process. From there, it was a matter of tracking it to the source and the use."

"It still took a toll." Callen narrowed his eyes at Hetty, not wanting to explain but at the same time he wasn't willing to gloss over the sacrifices made. Hetty acknowledged his quiet rebuke with a tip of her head. The people scattered around the monitor waited in silence. After a moment Callen gave himself a mental shake. "The crack-down forced the criminal enterprises to either go deeper underground or be creative. This group chose the latter.

"As I said, they connect people who have money needing washing with organizations that specialize in laundering. The pairings are random each time so it makes it more difficult for law enforcement to follow the money." Callen tapped the button and brought up a diagram that Deeks had sketched on the back of a take-out menu. "Once commitments of a certain amount of money has been made, The Club convenes a poker night. The launderers each send a representative. The reps play until only one is left who wins the right to clean the entire amount. They launder it, take a cut, and return it back washed. The trio never lays a hand on the money. They get paid a finder's fee by both sides for which they monitor the money exchanging and hold the poker game."

"What is Detective Deeks' role?" LaSalle asked.

"He's their dealer. Samuel has experience in the banking industry and Johnny is the contact for various groups. Back when they were more active, Deeks said they held all the games in LA either at the restaurant or a local club. I don't know why they're here or who made the change."

Percy tapped a foot on the floor. "Why did they go inactive?"

"According to Deeks it was a mutual decision between the three of them. The pressure from the police had eased and their original plan was to bridge the gap while organizations came up with new methods. Deeks mined the experience for contacts since the money is next to impossible to trail."

"What would you like to do now?" Pride was crew chief in this city, but he deferred to Callen's experience with the case.

Callen sighed. "I need to know what Deeks knows. It happened so fast that we missed some steps." He ignored Hetty's grunt. "Do you have anything to add?"

"How about you take some time and we'll regroup in the morning?" Pride held his arms up as if to herd the group towards the kitchen. "It's been a busy day."

When Callen nodded, LaSalle hopped up and strode to the kitchen. "G, you have to raid the fridge. King's been cooking again."

Percy was close on his heels. "So help me, you will not feed him my greens. Pride made them for me."

Patton laughed and wheeled out towards his van, promising to return the next day. Pride looked at Hetty on the screen, "We'll get them back to you in one piece."

"I am holding you to that, sir." She signed off with a nod.

Dwayne heard a pot bang and hung his head. Better save his cookware.


	6. Chapter 6

**Come What May**

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters or the shows.  
 **A/N:** Thanks to ivanacindy, nonna99, Max and Fern 4ever, wotumba1, sassyzazzi, and Santosh for the reviews!

* * *

 _Chapter 6_

Callen groaned and stretched. However, he didn't get very far because a crick in his neck sent a shooting pain down his back. Straightening that out, he went to put his feet on the floor only to discover his foot was asleep. He bounced it in place, wincing at the prickles in his sole. Sleeping on the couch never seemed this hard before.

Then again, this wasn't a couch.

He levered himself into a sitting position and glared at the armrest of the sofa he'd fallen into last night. Two seat pillows was cute for courting couples but it was hardly enough room for a grown man to sleep on. The scant possessions he'd brought with him from LA and yesterday's motel were scattered across the coffee table.

"Mornin'." Callen could smell the coffee Pride carried before he saw him. "Sleep well?"

Callen grimaced. "Sorry, I should've warned you about my sleeping patterns before you offered me your couch."

Pride chuckled. "You're not the first to walk this floor in the dead of night." He handed him a mug. "Here, drink up. The team'll be rolling in shortly."

That prompted a different groan. "I'm used to bickering, but those two – it's more of a hecklefest."

"Oil and vinegar, country and city." Pride shook his head with humour. "They can't seem to agree on anything except that they truly worry about each other. Not that they'd admit it out loud."

Callen followed Pride down to the kitchen where he was coerced into eating a complete and healthy breakfast. Shaking his head as he insisted that washing the dishes was the least he could do, Callen realized that Pride had probably chatted with Hetty and was keeping an eye on him. He just wondered what voodoo Pride wielded to have tricked him into actually eating breakfast. The dishes finished, he headed back up to his loaned lodgings to clean up in the bathroom.

"Are you really going to stick to this absurd story? I can smell the bacon grease on your clothes."

"What's wrong with a little meat in the morning?"

"Please tell me it was at least lean and not loaded with fat." Callen could hear them arguing through the bathroom's open window and it continued as he made his way down to the office.

"How are you supposed to fry bacon without fat?"

A finger pointed into LaSalle's face. "Ha! You admit you had bacon!"

"Of course I had bacon, how else are you supposed to eat eggs?" Chris swiped a hand at Percy's judging finger. "You taunt me enough about food during lunch and dinner, why can't you leave my breakfast alone?"

"There are so many healthy alternatives. Turkey!"

LaSalle heaved a sigh and saw Callen. "What do you think?"

Callen straightened and took an involuntary step back when Percy swung to glare at him. "Uh, I don't usually eat breakfast."

Percy tipped her head back in defeat. "That's even worse."

"Good, explain to him why." Chris nudged her shoulder and pushed her in Callen's direction. He escaped and plopped down in his desk chair, buried his head behind the monitor, and started typing.

Callen's mouth opened, but he couldn't think of anything to say. Somehow he could deflect Sam easily, but this little bundle of attitude coming at him with her fists perched on her hips had him fumbling. "I don't always skip it…sometimes I go for pancakes."

A glint formed in Percy's eyes and she pursed her lips.

"I get them with fruit?"

Percy narrowed her eyes.

"I should probably try to eat better." Callen caved.

LaSalle coughed and Callen swore he heard him say 'coward' in between.

Pride saved him from any further interrogation when he came in and clicked on the monitor by the door. "Sebastian's results are starting to come in." A shot of an empty lab showed on the TV. "Sebastian?" The four gathered around and waited

A man came into view. "Good morning, all! I've been running analyses on the evidence collected at the accident site while jogging on the spot. I find the multi-tasking is sending a level of endorphins through my body that is just invigorating. I've only been working for a short time but I feel like I could conquer the world today. Anybody want to climb a mountain? Where was I…right, results."

"Wait a moment, Sebastian, we have someone else joining." Dr. Wade stepped through the doorway and joined the group. She grinned, "I made a detour to see a patient."

A curse wafted through the door followed by the sound of metal scraping against wood. Pride squinted at the doctor, "Loretta, should we be helping that someone?"

"I was warned by the nurses that he's an independent sort."

"Arrgh!" A wheelchair piloted by a glowering blond shot through the doorway. "Stupid foot petal! I can't believe I'm stuck in this thing." Deeks grunted and then stopped dead as he looked to his right. "Seriously?"

Patton cruised into the room. "You, m'man, need some practice."

"I'm sorry." Deeks said quietly.

"No worries, heard about your plight. I'll take you out back and show you some tips." Patton tossed a pair of gloves into Deeks' lap. They both rolled into the circle who had shifted to make room.

"Deeks, what are you doing here?" Callen glared at him. Deeks' leg was encased in a thick black brace and propped up by the wheelchair. His head wound, caused when he collided with the dash was still visibly bruised with medical tape across the section that had split open and bled.

"You know I hate hospitals." Deeks ducked his head and picked at his borrowed shorts.

Loretta stepped in. "It's not common I have a living patient, and I found him trying to get released when I went to check on him this morning." She gave him a look of motherly impatience. "I thought that if he was so determined to leave, I'd bring him back here." She laid a hand on Deeks' shoulder, "You remember our deal. You don't leave this compound and follow the doctor's instructions to the letter or I'm taking you to the morgue with me." She squeezed to make her point and then threw over her should as she left, "Call me if you need me."

"Don't you know how to use a phone?" Callen drilled at Deeks.

"Uh, I didn't have one." Deeks shot back.

"That's my fault." Pride cut open an evidence bag and handed over his phone. "Now that we have everyone back together, shall we begin?"

"Alright." Sebastian and Patton answered in unison.

"Me first!" Sebastian threw a hand in the air.

"Nuh-uh, I'm in the room." Patton went to start typing.

"Maybe we should hear from the reason we're all in this room together first." Pride almost shouted over the disagreement while looking at Deeks.

Deeks gulped and started fidgeting. "It's a bit of a story, maybe we should sit down."

* * *

 **A/N:** Deeks and LaSalle are going to get some time together; what would you want them to discuss? Brunette partners with attitude to burn? Swap PD stories? Best places to find shirts?


	7. Chapter 7

**Come What May**

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters or the shows.  
 **A/N:** Thanks to TMVH50, wotumba1, nonna99, sassyzazzi, Max and Fern 4ever, JONI, and Guest for dropping reviews! Here we go again.

* * *

 _Chapter 7_

Deeks' nerves were twitching as he slammed the door of Callen's town car. He took a moment to straighten his tie and tug his shirt cuffs out from the sleeves of his leather jacket. The adjustments gave him time to settle into character and undo the damage of the mad race on his clothing. He brushed his hair out of his eyes and strolled to the restaurant's door.

"Neil!" A well-dressed Latino called out from the bar running along the side of the dining room. "What happened to your head?"

Deeks shook his head. "I grew out my hair. What's it to you?"

"I guess we all change, don't we?" Samuel, code name 'Sam', came out from behind the bar.

"I'll say, I don't remember a ring on that particular finger." Deeks pointed at his left hand. "Still a stickler for all silver jewellery, I see."

Samuel chuckled. "You should've seen her face when I told her it didn't matter what the ring looked like as long as it wasn't gold." He waved his hand in the air, " 'But honey, then we won't match!' "

The pair walked through the room that had a few stragglers finishing their meals to the back room that had been emptied. Deeks noted Samuel hadn't lost his taste in fashion based on the well-fit suit. He ran a hand through his hair remembering the tight shave that had been forced on him not long before they had met.

"Why isn't it set up already?" Deeks looked around the room confused. In the past there had been a certain standard of décor; the people meeting for the games had expected a plushness.

Johnny, also known as 'Jonas', wrapped around a table. "Slight change in plans. Or location, to be more exact." Deeks and Samuel shared equally confused looks. "There were concerns raised about gathering the group together here. Rumblings have been heard about the FBI starting their task force up again."

Deeks halted the smile that threatened to tug at his lips – the Secret Service had been floating that idea for the past month in an attempt to distract the criminals from finding out about their multi-year on-going investigation that had almost reached completion. It wasn't the most opportune time for this little gang to re-open their services as Deeks had worried about messing up the Secret Service's work. But Johnny said the groups had insisted. Maybe someone had found out the truth and was attempting to hide their money before the government served their warrants and subpoenas.

Samuel groaned. "Man, you know I don't like change."

Johnny's dark eyes crinkled. "I have a plan. You're part doesn't change. Grab the laptop and meet me out back."

Deeks saw his old dealing set and popped the latches on the leather case. He shifted through the sealed decks and found the chips nestled in the bottom. His notebook of cheat sheets on the different game versions was in the pocket where he always stored it. Pulling it out and leafing through it reminded him of all the work he'd put into becoming an expert dealer. Sam may have his sommelier pin, but Deeks knew how to deal those cards. He stuffed the notebook back in and hoped he would have a chance to review it before it was time to play his part.

"Got it. Let's go." Samuel was borderline stomping as he came through the room and headed for the back door. Deeks followed behind, hefting his case in his hands.

Johnny waved them into a mirrored SUV and went to close the door without entering.

"Hold it, a little information would be appreciated." Samuel's was frowning as he held the door open.

Johnny sighed. "We're already behind." Seeing that Samuel wasn't budging he grunted and released the door. "Everyone's meeting in New Orleans. I arranged for a driver to pick you both up and bring you to the location. You have two seats on a plane that will leave without you."

"And what about your seat?" Deeks leaned forward for a better angle to see Johnny.

"I'm staying here and coordinating with the locals. They want to know their representatives are safe and I'm somewhat collateral. So make sure everyone comes home in one piece or they'll be drawing straws to see who gets to shoot me first, okay?" With that Samuel let him shut the door and the driver pulled out of the alleyway.

* * *

Deeks leaned his head against the headrest and tried to take a nap. He'd worked all day and then started a whole new work day a mere hour after he got off from the first. His notebook was safely stashed back in the case tucked under the seat in front of him. Samuel was a few rows back and the lady in the seat next to Deeks had plugged earphones in the moment she was allowed which left Deeks to his own thoughts. The window offered no view so Deeks had spent some time reviewing both his notebook and what Samuel and he had discussed while waiting at the gate.

There hadn't been many surprises on Samuel's end; he'd been collecting submissions from the groups looking to clean their money for two weeks and finally hit the target of $8 million the morning before. Johnny had been coordinating all the groups offering laundering services for the same amount of time. Only Deeks had no responsibilities before or after the game, which was the way he liked it, seeing as he was the only one with a full-time job of the three. Not that the other two knew what he actually did – they thought he was a gambler who had made it big and now enjoyed watching other people's stomachs churn at the prospect of a bad card.

He thought through the names Samuel had listed and nobody stood out. Most were either familiar from when they did this before or from being in law enforcement. He and Callen hadn't formulated a plan aside from gathering information but Deeks was sure they could make some serious dents in the operations if they could figure out a way to weaponize the information against them. He shrugged deeper into the seat and then took a deep breath. He'd make that Callen's problem when he called him in the morning. For now, he'd grab some sleep while he could.


	8. Chapter 8

**Come What May**

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters or the shows.  
 **A/N:** Thanks to nonna99, ivanacindy, TMVH50, db1205, and sassyzazzi for leaving reviews.

* * *

Samuel eyed the driver holding a sign with the logo from their shared restaurant. "I don't like this."

Neil flipped a lock of hair out of his eye and scratched at his side burn. "What don't you like?"

"We've never had outsiders involved in this and I don't like changing the plan now, especially when we're just starting up again."

"Got your own plan?" Neil looked over at the driver as well.

"Yeah, I do." He stalked over to the driver. "You're looking for us."

The driver plastered the smile he was paid to give on his face and reached for Neil's case. "Follow me, your car is waiting."

"I got it." Neil's voice was quiet but it was clear the driver wasn't to argue. The man shrugged and led them to a waiting SUV.

Samuel handed his briefcase to Neil and dug out his wallet. "I'm assuming you have our location programmed into your GPS?" At the driver's nod, he tugged some bills out of his wallet. "Here's $500, give me the keys and take the night off."

The driver's eyes widen and he looked between the two men. His eyes landed back on the cash in Samuel's outstretched hand and the decision was made. He held out the keys with one hand and grabbed the cash with the other. "If you drop it off at the airport when you leave, we can keep this between us." He shoved the bills in his pocket and walked towards the bus stop.

Neil pulled open the door and put the luggage on the back seat while Samuel walked around to the driver side. They buckled in and Neil played with the GPS unit until it was reading out the directions.

"Feel better?" Neil floated the question across the center console.

Samuel eased back into the seat. "Yes, I do. I appreciate that you don't mind."

Neil lifted a corner of his mouth up. "I've learned to be flexible when working with partners." He rummaged through his coat pocket. "Peppermint?"

This was new, Neil never carried food around with him. Maybe this was one change Samuel could roll with. He grabbed the candy and ripped the packaging off. "Don't mind if I do."

* * *

Johnny had lived up to one part of his job. Samuel eyed the furniture located in the center of the otherwise empty warehouse. An oval poker table sat directly under a light with a smaller table off to the side. A smattering of chairs ringed the table. Samuel went straight for the small table and set up the laptop. He'd already entered all the data for the money coming in, he would begin the transfers as soon as the game started. He needed all the account information from those competing tonight so he could transfer the funds as soon as a winner was announced. He would leave giving the three of them their cut of the fees until he got back to the hotel for the night.

Everyone knew their jobs so Samuel quickly had an orderly line of people with slips of paper with banking information. He typed in the information as well as accepted the payment transfers that was their crew's finder fee. Neil stationed himself at the table, divvying up the chips. He'd wait to break open a new deck of cards until all the players were seated. The security squads for each player did a little power play dance until they all sat themselves in little groups behind where their player was to be seated. Samuel had learned that they had all filtered in over the last two days and had been informed by text the time and place of the game.

The line ended and the players took their positions. Samuel watched as Neil got the game going and then he started on his transfers. It had taken time to learn how to work the systems to protect the movement of the money, but he'd had good teachers in the banking world. He'd just completely the complex maneuvers when a sound pulled him out of his concentration.

A player's security man was pointing a shot gun at one of the other players. Samuel's hands wrapped around the laptop and his entire body tensed as he prepared to run into the darkness of the warehouse. The player showed that there was nothing in his sleeves and after a heart-stopping moment, the security man reversed his path. Samuel released the breath he didn't realize he was holding and uncurled his hands from the computer. The other players groaned and muttered, but they all watched as the fifth completed the ritual of pulling in all the chips.

Samuel deduced that the game was over – much quicker than expected – and prepared to transfer the money to the winner. Neil would bring the player over as they had a procedure of confirming the victory and giving some instructions. They losing players started to leave and by the time the last one left, the winner had his information and was giving Neil and Samuel solid handshakes. They waited until the door closed behind the last group before speaking.

"That was fast." Neil shook his head. "They were all a bit reckless tonight."

"You didn't even take a break!" Samuel looked over at the cards and chips strewn on the table.

"One minute they were all in and the next four of them were out completely." Neil scratched his head. "I guess we might as well clean up and go find a hotel."

"If you don't mind, I'll distribute our cuts while you pack up the table."

Neil nodded in agreement and started stacking the chips back in his case. Samuel logged in the desired transfers and was done quickly. He gathered the cards laying on the table and threw them out in a garbage can as Neil was snapping the locks shut.

"I came here on vacation two years ago, I think I might have a spot for us to stay."

Neil unsuccessfully stifled a yawn and motioned for Samuel to lead the way. They climbed into their SUV and Samuel backtracked out of the warehouse district and to the highway the same way they came in. He made the final turn towards the highway entrance when suddenly control of the vehicle was no longer in his hands.

The SUV flew forward and sped up. Samuel screamed as a building appeared in front of them. Neil was yelling something at him but he couldn't process the information. The passenger side slammed into a wall and Samuel curled to protect himself from flying debris. The airbags didn't deploy but it felt like the seatbelt was strangling him. Samuel jammed his hand down and unlatched it. He turned to Neil and found him sprawled over the dashboard. His eyes were shut and blood dripped from his hair.

A sound from behind made Samuel turn around and he saw the driver of the vehicle behind him struggling with something. Samuel took that as his cue and flung his door open. "Sorry Neil," he whispered as he ran as fast as his aching body could carry him. He didn't slow down until he reached the highway.

Luck leaned his way and a taxi was driving down the road just as he caught his breath. The driver didn't ask for an explanation and Samuel didn't offer one. An extra fifty doubled the fare and guaranteed the man's silence. Samuel stumbled to the ticket desk and registered for the first flight back to LA. He dropped on a nearby bench and clenched his eyes shut.

He knew he never should have agreed to this.


	9. Chapter 9

**Come What May**

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters or the shows.  
 **A/N:** Thanks to ivanacindy and anonkp for leaving reviews!

* * *

 _Chapter 9_

Chairs had been gathered around the television screen as Deeks had recounted the missing hours. Hetty had joined via teleconference and a steaming pot beside her had refilled her teacup throughout while Pride had slipped into the kitchen to top up everyone's coffee mugs partway through the tale. Sebastian occupied another corner of the screen and had stopped what he was doing to pay attention. Everyone stayed still as they listened to Deeks' voice rise and lower through the highs and lows of the night.

"When we were driving straight for the wall, I was yelling at Samuel to hit the brakes, but he just froze." Deeks eyes tightened. "The wall came up so quickly and my head slammed against the dashboard. I remember opening my eyes once to see an empty driver's seat but after that…" His voice died away.

Callen's eyes roved over his partner's face. He quietly asked, "How bad is your headache?"

Deeks gaze flicked over to Callen and then down to the floor. "What?"

"You're grinding your teeth. How bad is it?"

"It's not a certainly not a party." He tucked a bag beside him in the chair further back.

Callen chose to let it pass for now and instead decided to focus on the case. "We need to find Samuel and we should get into that warehouse, can we get a warrant?"

"You don't need a warrant, I have the keys." Deeks looked at Pride, "where are my pants?" Pride grabbed a box containing everything the hospital collected and fished out a set of keys jingling at the bottom. "The driver was supposed to give us that package too, I found it in the cup holder."

"What about the security guy with the shotgun? Could they be behind this?" LaSalle rubbed his chin as he posed the question to the group.

Deeks closed his eyes as he thought back, "That was the Eastern Europeans. Eric has mentioned that they have quite the underground computing power out there."

"Alright. Chris and Callen, go take a look at the warehouse. Sonja, you stay here and work the European angle with Deeks. Patton, how's the laptop coming along?" Pride began to divvy up responsibilities.

Patton tapped his screen and pulled up the data, "In progress. There was some funky protection on there but the program'll crack it."

Pride nodded. "Try to get a lock on Samuel while you're waiting. I'm going to update Detective Monroe. Sebastian, any news?"

Sebastian poked his head up, "Uh, something weird that needs some more work." He started to tap away at his keyboard.

"Keep working at it. Questions?" Pride waited then nodded. "Go, learn things." He unlocked the cabinet to grab his gun then motioned for Sonja to come over.

LaSalle knocked Callen in the shoulder. "I drive. Follow me." He caught the warehouse keys Pride tossed his way. Callen patted Deeks' shoulder as he walked past.

"Y'know, I should go to the warehouse, I've been there before." Deeks twisted the wheels to turn on the spot.

"Nah, man. They's just going to argue all the way." Sonia strode back to Brody's empty desk and leaned against it. "Besides, I don't know these people."

Pride winked at Sonja over Deeks' head and followed Callen and LaSalle out the door. Patton left to update his computer with new searches and Sebastian signed off saying his machines were beeping at him. Quiet settled on the room as Deeks pulled his hands off the wheels and into his lap. Sonja folded her arms and sorted through what to say.

"You're not being left behind." Her voice was low and she narrowed her eyes as she watched Deeks' profile.

The corner of his mouth flittered upwards. "This is all kind of my fault. I reopened the alias on a bit of a whim and we ran directly into something we had no background on."

Percy chuckled. "Sounds like a lot of my operations when I was undercover with ATF. I actually ran into this crew mid-case. LaSalle was so grumpy."

Deeks tipped his head to face Percy, "Me too. I was trying to wrap up a drug case and Callen's partner Sam came storming through all my hard work. Actually got him arrested in an attempt to get him out of my way." He grinned. "I was so happy when they released me and then they open his cell too…I thought he was going to slug me."

"LaSalle has this ingrained need to keep me out of the way too but he was worried I was going to get shot or something. As if I can't run faster than him." She flipped her ponytail and got a laugh out of Deeks. "So how about we, two transplants, get some work done?"

Deeks nodded. "Got some hardware I can work with?"

Percy wrapped around the desk and pulled Brody's chair out of the way. "Here, Meri won't mind as long as you don't move anything. I'll top up our refreshments."

Bumping over the edge of the carpet took a good push but Deeks got himself settled behind the keyboard and started pulling up files. Hetty silently ended the call, confident that she could leave her agents in the hands of New Orleans' finest for a time.

* * *

LaSalle started the drive by playing tour guide. He loved his adopted city and took the time to regale Callen with tales of late nights and early mornings spent rooting out everything New Orleans had to offer. Callen soon realized that Chris had a story for every corner, whether it was personally experienced or a third-hand account about an extraordinary event. The past and present wove together to form a legend that was carried in the heart of every resident. He felt the history in the air as LaSalle waved at a corner band or pointed out a landmark.

As they turned out of the city streets and towards the docks, the conversation turned to NCIS's presence in the area. It was a small outpost but they kept themselves busy. Callen managed to steer the conversation away from any rematches until they had to focus on finding one specific warehouse among a sea of warehouses.

"There." Callen pointed at a doorway on the right side of the road. LaSalle pulled his truck up to the side of building and put it in park. Once at the door, Callen eyed the area as LaSalle found the correct key and unlocked the door. He felt the inside wall for a light switch and found the ceiling floodlights.

"Looks like nothin's been moved." Chris propped his hands on his hips and gazed at the set-up in the centre of the big room.

"Poker table, chairs, extra desk, and some extension cords. It's exactly as Deeks described it." He turned to look at LaSalle. "This is your town, what do you suggest?"

Chris tugged on the strap of his backpack. "Snaps and prints. Which do you prefer?"

Callen held out his hand, "Give me the camera, in LA we have techs for prints."

"Maybe you should go to a seminar." LaSalle grinned as he dug out the camera. He laughed as Callen rolled his eyes, took the camera, and stalked to the poker table.


	10. Chapter 10

**Come What May**

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters or the shows.  
 **A/N:** Thanks to ivanacindy, sassyzazzi, TMVH50, and JONI for the reviews.

* * *

 _Chapter 10_

Pride walked through the arched doorway to see empty desks. He locked his gun away in the filing cabinet and then followed the sound of laughter to the kitchen.

"So there he is, starin' intently down the barrel of his rifle." LaSalle leaned back in his chair, holding an imaginary gun to his eye. He gave a cheeky grin to the group who were all howling, that is, except for Callen who was sullenly moping in his chair.

Sonja winked at Dwayne from where she was leaning against the kitchen island. Deeks was laughing so hard he was resting his forehead directly on the table top. Patton's hands were covering his face but they didn't block the snorts coming out of him. Even Loretta and Sebastian were intently listening from the video chat set up on the laptop perched on the sideboard.

"Ah could see his intended target was a long ways off on the next hilltop. Ah assumed this ol' boy was going for a shot in the side."

"It was Sam and I had been stalking him for three hours!" Callen ground out which prompted Deeks to pound on the table with his fist as he gasped for air.

"Question," Sebastian raised his hand in the air. "Who's Sam?"

"He's…Cal…len's…" Deeks raised his head and started to explain but could only get out one syllable in between breaths.

Callen rolled his eyes. "He's my partner but before that he was this super SEAL. Very adapted to the jungle and forest environments." He pierced LaSalle with a hot glare. "And I finally had him in _my_ sights, not the other way around."

"So anyway," Chris continued as if he'd never been interrupted. "There's this guy, sittin' pretty under this bush, readyin' to shoot some poor unsuspectin' soul."

A deep grunt was the only response Callen deigned to give to that description of Sam.

"An' I just couldn't let it happen."

"Do you realize" Callen broke in "I mapped out Sam's movements based on the last five exercises. I ran the numbers to find his most probably strategy. I picked that spot and staked it out for a full hour before he finally slid into my sightline."

"Poor Sam." Percy moaned, smirking at Pride as she wound Callen up even more.

"Poor Sam?!" Callen gaped. "Do you know how many times he shot me in between the gear's padding? Every. Single. Time. I had bruises!"

"Total flukes. Those guns don't have that much accuracy." LaSalle shook his head.

Percy leaned forward and stage-whispered to Chris, "Says the man who has shot Pride in the butt twice."

LaSalle's face lit up with a grin. "Modified equipment can be an ass..et."

"Alright, that's it." Pride stepped closer to the table and waved his hands in the air before the conversation went further off-topic. His interference was met with groans and booing but his grimace had a grin sneaking behind it. "Fun's over. Let's try and focus on the case." Everyone had the decency to look a bit chagrined, except Callen who was sighing in relief. LaSalle, the rascal, winked at his boss.

"I like it here. Normally it's Sam and Callen picking on me." Deeks whispered to Percy as they were the last to file out of the kitchen. Pride heard Sonja's snicker behind him and just shook his head. Sebastian and Loretta were relocated to the lower screen and Patton was trying to take control of the screen so he could share his information first but Sebastian was madly typing to keep his reports in front.

"Rock, paper, scissors!" LaSalle yelled over the disagreement and the two held out their fists. Two out of three gave Sebastian the overall win and he clicked away while Patton sniffed and crossed his arms.

"Samuel has cancer." Sebastian announced. "I ran the blood samples found at the scene and found chemo drugs."

Deeks nodded. "That explains why he agreed to start again. He was really happy to quit originally; he wasn't enjoying the illegal aspects. And by that I mean interacting with gangs and thugs." He leaned back and looked at Callen. "Messed up his suits." Callen smirked in response.

"My turn." Patton spun to face the group. "Johnny was in town."

Deeks was shocked. "No. He wasn't there. He stayed back to work with the crews!"

Patton shook his head. "He took a private jet that landed an hour after you."

"Sebastian," Pride looked at the screen, "could you-"

"Already ahead of you." Loretta looked on as Sebastian typed away. The group was quiet as his eyes were glued to a monitor. "The truck was wiped down but the techs found prints under the outside door handle. It's a partial but…the pieces we have are a match to Johnny."

Callen squinted at the screen. "It was Johnny that set this game up and then he tries to cut out his partners? For what," he glanced at Deeks whose face was scrunched up in concentration "a few thousand dollars?"

"The cut was supposed to be around a hundred thousand each."

"One hundred, twelve thousand and four hundred dollars." Patton amended. All eyes turned to him.

"How did you know that?" Percy asked.

"I cracked the laptop." Patton leaned back and grinned. "It's also how I know he took the plane. I have access to all the accounts associated with this deal through it."

"Including all the money that came in?" Deeks clumsily spun to face Patton.

"The launderers, the gangs, everyone. Even your fake account."

"Whoa." Sonja held her hands out. "That's a lot of cash."

"Dirty cash." Callen added. He squinted at Deeks. "There's a lot of groups implicated by these accounts."

Deeks wrinkled his nose and nodded. "The Treasury is after two of the launderers that I know of."

"ATF would love to get their hands on some that are trying to clean their money."

"DEA, FBI, probably local PD's, the list is long." Pride guessed. "NCIS doesn't have jurisdiction over most of them."

"Except for one." Callen stated and then turned to eye Deeks, "Los Robos, they came up while you and Samuel were talking at the airport before you left."

Deeks slowly nodded. "They were looking to clean. I'm not familiar with them other than they're a group out of southern California."

Callen swallowed. "NCIS has a history with them. Patton, can you check if any accounts are under Marco Ramirez?"

Patton tapped away and filtered through the laptop's drive. "There's one for an 'MRam LRob'. I have the routing numbers, I could do some digging."

"I'd appreciate it." Callen nodded his thanks.

Percy cleared her throat. "We found some things too." She tipped her head towards Deeks who shot her a wink. A few taps and their accomplishment showed on the screen.

"We went through everyone involved and now have a list of all the groups."

Deeks worked his wheels to face the screen again. "If we include everyone on both sides, there are 22 organizations. Five were battling to clean the money of the other seventeen. Most of the seventeen have a presence in California but a few are located on the east coast. As far as we can tell, none have local representatives in New Orleans. They all seem to be localized."

Pride tapped a finger against his folded arms. "How many have active investigations into their operations?"

"We found federal alerts for 15 of them." Percy tapped a key. "We didn't check local PD's and we didn't know about Los Robos to NCIS connection."

Callen stepped forward, "Can I make a suggestion, Pride, even though this is your house?" At Dwayne's nod, Callen continued. "Aside from Los Robos, I don't think we have the resources to deal with this information. I say we pass on what we have to the different agencies and move their investigations forward."

His suggestion was met with nods. Pride spoke next, "How about this, Patton, you get on packaging up the data so it can be sent off. Start with the ones Percy has marked off. There's fifteen and five of us, let's each take three and contact the lead agents to prep them for the data transfers. Sebastian, pick up where Patton left off and see if you can track Johnny and Samuel any further."

With no objections, the team scattered to complete their tasks.


	11. Chapter 11

**Come What May**

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters or the shows.  
 **A/N:** Thanks to Elvira25, JONI, nonna99, ivanacindy, and LadyFallonLeigh for the reviews! Apologies for the delayed posting; my habit of writing chapters out of order caught up with me (again).

* * *

 _Chapter 11_

Deeks unwound his arm from around LaSalle's neck and eased down onto the couch. "Thanks for taking me in for the night." He leaned back into the soft cushions.

"Not a problem. I have the space, and the least amount of stairs." Chris pulled a stool over and plopped a pillow on top. "I figured you wouldn't mind, especially since the other option was Loretta lookin' in on you every hour."

"For a coroner, she has an excellent bedside manner. She does tend to hover, though." Deeks winced as he lifted his leg onto the stool.

"She's used to her charges staying where she puts them. Stubborn living patients frustrate her." Chris called on his way from the kitchen. "Here, don't you tell her I gave you this."

Deeks grinned and took a drink out of the offered bottle of beer. "Yep, can't get this at the hospital."

LaSalle dropped into another chair. "So, you an' Percy got along today?" He cracked his own beer open and took a drink.

"Yeah, we worked well together." Deeks shifted. "But, she's got a look." He paused. "Like a _look_."

Chris barked out a laugh. "I know the one." He leaned back in his chair. "The one where you're pretty sure death is lurkin' behind you just waitin' for her to nod."

Deeks took another pull from the bottle. "All I did – seriously this is all – was go to put my foot on the foot rest instead of the complicated rack attached to the wheelchair." Deeks eyes went wide, reliving the moment. "She looked at me and said if I did anything besides what Doc Wade said I could, I'd never see the sandy beaches of LA ever again."

LaSalle grinned and shook his head. "All that fire and brimstone in such a small package."

"I felt like my life should've been flashing in front of my eyes." Deeks cocked an eyebrow. "I'd be doing a lot of duck-and-covering if I were you."

"Nah, she's a pistol but she's on my side…most of the time." LaSalle propped a foot up on a wooden box that was standing in as a coffee table. "What's your partner like?"

Deeks started to answer then stopped. His face molded into a confused look with scrunched eyebrows and a deep frown. "Take Percy."

"Yeah."

"Little taller."

"Uh huh."

"Little more 'I'll shoot you' rather than 'I'll set your hair on fire with my glare."

"Okay."

"That's Kensi."

LaSalle shifted forward. "You scared of her?"

Deeks looked around the room. "Only some days." He paused. "The other times I'm terrified."

Quiet hung in the air and then they both burst out laughing.

LaSalle wound down first. "We got some great women watching our hides then."

"I'll toast to that." Deeks raised his bottle.

* * *

They had whittled away the better part of an hour discussing their careers and people they'd crossed paths with. As a police officer-turned-agent, LaSalle had perspective on the struggles that Deeks faced as a local cop in a federal world. LaSalle didn't push Deeks in any direction concerning making the jump to being an NCIS agent, but Deeks asked questions about LaSalle's experiences going back into the cop's world at times. LaSalle did agree that he had a different experience than Deeks; LaSalle was a well-liked cop who still had friends throughout the departments, as did Pride. Deeks, on the other hand, had found shelter from the disapproval of LAPD at NCIS. Yet, he couldn't make the official jump.

 _'You're the one who has to get up in the morning and put on the badge.'_ LaSalle had said. _'If you're not comfortable with the shield in that wallet, you won't be able to focus on your job.'_

At some point they'd transitioned into their off-hours. While they had different preferred sports, they still enjoyed bantering back and forth about their favoured college teams. An agreement was made to add each other into their betting pools when the time came. The conversation wound down and they looked to packing it in for the night, because Deeks never found sleeping at hospitals to be entirely restful and they were both getting tired.

A heavy knocking at the door put an end to that plan and LaSalle walked towards the entrance. Deeks waited as he heard the door open but LaSalle didn't say anything. He took another drink and then nearly spit it out.

LaSalle held his hands out in the classic 'I surrender' pose and slowly backed up towards his seat. He lowered himself down all while staying quiet. Deeks eyes swung to the figure appearing through the dark.

"What are you doing Johnny?" Deeks asked.

Johnny swung to point his stubby pistol at Deeks. "What do you think? I'm here to get my money, Neil." He nodded towards LaSalle. "Who's this guy? You in town for a few days and already have a new partner?"

Deeks swallowed. "This is Chris. We go back to my gambling days. He does sports betting."

Johnny's eyes took in the walls of the living room and fridge in the kitchen. LaSalle had decorated using memorabilia and posters which added authenticity to Deeks' lie. "I saw you today coming out of some federal agency. You give me up?"

LaSalle subtly raised his brows. Deeks was thinking the same thing – clearly his cover wasn't blown…yet. "No, Johnny, I never said a word."

"Are they the ones who have my laptop?"

Deeks swallowed. "What about it?

"I need that laptop. And you're going to get it for me."

LaSalle caught Deeks' eye. They were in trouble and they both knew it.

* * *

Percy paused on the step as she reached for the door handle. LaSalle's door was up against the jam, but not latched closed. That was very unusual for her partner; even when he came home after a night on the town the door was bolted shut. She knew because she'd resorted to banging on his window when he overslept his alarm and the door was locked tighter than a vault. Very carefully she edged the door open so she could see through the crack. The oiled hinges did her a favour and kept her presence a secret.

A man paced with his back to her. She caught glimpses of Detective Deeks on the couch. She pushed her luck and opened the door a bit more. Now she had a direct line of sight to LaSalle. It took some time, but he finally looked her way. He leaned and stretched his arm so that his wrist hung over his knee. He made a fist and pointed his thumb down.

They were in trouble.

She backed off the step and down his walkway towards her car. It was parked behind a big bush so she didn't worry about the interior light turning on in her trunk as she dove in looking for that lockbox. She had borrowed some tranquilizer darts and rifles from her contacts at the ATF for LaSalle last weekend and hadn't had the chance to return them yet. Wolves were threatening his relatives' houses and he'd gone hunting with his cousins to catch and relocate them deeper into the woods. She fumbled through the box and grabbed the smallest of the guns.

"Grown man, probably twice the size of a wolf, two darts should do." She muttered as she opened the case of ammo. Closing the box and the trunk quietly gave her a moment to calm her breathing and focus on her task. She slunk back to the front door and took a firing position before easing the door open just enough to slide the barrel in and sight her target. She waited, then fired.

 _Pfft._ The dart left the barrel.

The man wavered, but he stayed on his feet.

 _Pfft._ She pulled the trigger again, her aim never straying from the center of his back.

The man thumped as he landed on the floor. She dropped the tranquilizer rifle and yanked her NCIS-issued pistol from its holster, pushing through the door.

"That's it. He was alone." LaSalle stood from his chair and strode over to the man lying on his floor, kicking his gun out of his hand. "Great timing, partner."

She holstered her gun. "Yeah, well, Loretta had a 'gut feeling' and asked me to swing by." Percy crossed her arms. "But I don't think this is what she had in mind."

"Oh yeah? What was she worried about?" Deeks asked from his spot on the couch.

"Mixing alcohol and pain medication." She eyed the bottle Deeks was subtly pushing back on the table. "Ya'll owe me one."

"Fair enough." LaSalle poked the body with his toe. "What'd'ya think we should do with this one?"

"Y'know, I think I have an idea." Deeks bared his teeth and grinned up at his New Orleans counterparts.

Percy leaned towards LaSalle, "I don't think I like where this is going to go."

"I'm with you on that, City Mouse." LaSalle agreed as he folded his arms.


	12. Chapter 12

**Come What May**

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters or the shows.  
 **A/N:** Thanks to Persalleshipper101, ivanacindy, JONI, Britt, and Elvira25 for the reviews; you asked for more and here it is.

* * *

 _Chapter 12_

It was an odd sound to wake up to. It was nothing like the chiming bell he'd chosen for his alarm after hours of searching. It was a personality quirk, he'd been told, his need to obsess over something until it was absolutely perfect. It was also something he had learned to exploit professionally. But back to the noise. It almost sounded like a clap, but not a hard one. More of a softened clap. It was loud enough that he couldn't ignore it but spaced out enough that he could almost fall asleep again. Then the sound changed to a clomp and he jerked his head. That wasn't right either, it should've been laying on a custom pillow, not be hanging down. He shifted and realized he was sitting instead of laying down as well. Fully confused, he raised his head.

Something was very wrong; he looked to his left and saw darkness. To his front was a dim light shining almost in his face. To his right was...

"Neil?" Johnny croaked out.

"Ah, he has awoken." A voice with a soft Slavic accent came out of the darkness from the far side of Neil. "Welcome back."

"What's going on?" Johnny gave his head a shake and started to shift forward. He found he didn't get very far because he was handcuffed to the armrests of his chair.

"I'll get to you in a moment." The body connected to the voice moved into the pool of light and Johnny saw a man with short blonde hair and an ill-fitting suit jacket. "Now, where were we, hmm?"

Johnny, resigning himself to the fact that he wasn't going anywhere, looked over at his partner Neil. Empty handcuffs dangled from the armrests of his chair as his arms were wrapped around his torso. Neil didn't look like he was in any condition to move, especially with the way he was hunched over. His leg had been wrapped in what looked to be a dirty cloth and it was sticking out from the chair at a hard angle. When he shook his head at whatever the other man was whispering at him, Johnny noticed bruises forming down his face. Something glistened in the light and it occurred to him it was blood. His fears were confirmed when the man whacked Neil upside the head.

"Answer the question!" The statement reverberated through the air.

"I. Don't. Know." Neil ground out the answer.

"Fine." The man stalked away from Neil and Johnny found himself holding his breath. The silence of the room amplified Neil's ragged breathing. A soft conversation was happening outside of the pool of light. Johnny made himself stay completely still, maybe there was a way out of…whatever this was.

The man returned and a glint flashed at his side. He looked Neil up and down, cringing and shaking his head. "Then you are of no use to me." The object leapt forward and shots rang out. Neil pitched off his chair into the darkness and Johnny stared at his unmoving feet and legs. The man leaned forward, peering down at the top of Neil's body. He shrugged his shoulders and then walked over to face Johnny. "Hello, you may call me Ivan." His blue eyes crinkled in the corner as he smiled. "I have some questions for you."

Johnny nodded as fast as he could, he wasn't sure when was the last time he took a breath so he sucked air into his lungs.

"I hope you can answer them, otherwise you neither will be of use to me." Ivan tucked his gun into his suit jacket's pocket.

"I'll…I'll try." Johnny agreed. Mentally he kicked himself, he needed to sound more confident. He may have to negotiate for his life and he was not starting on a good footing. In his experience the key to bargaining was to always appear as if you have the upper hand.

"Good." The man nodded. "I represent an organization who is unhappy at the outcome of your last poker game. Tell me, what happened?"

Johnny scrambled to decipher the man's question. "What are you specifically wondering about?"

Ivan frowned and paced a step forward. "I do not allow questions to be answered with questions. This is your only warning. I ask again, why did the game end as it did?"

"It was not rigged and nobody cheated." Johnny stated emphatically. "I was as surprised as anyone at how quickly it ended."

"Hmm." Ivan paced a few steps, which drew Johnny's eyes back to Neil. He quickly pulled his eyes away and resisted gulping. Ivan continued, "But it has always been held in Los Angeles. Why was it moved?"

Sweat broke out on his forehead. "It was requested."

Ivan narrowed his eyes and worked his jaw. "Do you fulfill all such requests?"

The sweat beaded. "No. This time was special."

"Why?" Ivan balled his right hand into a fist and massaged it with his left.

Johnny intended to draw out the purpose of Ivan's questions with his answer but they were interrupted by a voice that came from behind him speaking in a Slavic language. Ivan responded similarly so Johnny didn't understand the conversation.

It was then that he realized that he was alone, in a room with two people he didn't know, one of which just shot and presumably killed Neil. He was going to die in this room if he didn't do something quickly. He did some mental calculations and weighed his options. One, he balanced lying with the truth and hoped that he could get away fast enough before Ivan and his people realized the truth. On the other hand, Ivan could be an ally to help him out of the situation he'd found himself in. He could be trading down, but seeing as he was strapped to a chair being watched by a man who had shown himself willing to use the pistol sagging in his pocket, Johnny didn't see how it could be worse than where he already was. He'd extricated himself from tight spots before. Decision made, he told the truth when Ivan's eyes came back to rest on Johnny.

"I owed an organization money that works out of the port. I negotiated with them to clear my debt in exchange for cleaning their money for free. They agreed as long as the game was held in the city so they could keep an eye on it."

"How did they observe?"

"Since all the players were out-of-towners, they provided a security escort for each of the groups which I added as a requirement to join the game."

"Why do you owe them such a great debt?" Ivan unclenched his fist.

Johnny sighed. The dam had been broken and maybe if he told him the rest of the story, Ivan would forget about the gun in his pocket.

"I created a smuggling route into New Orleans for them. Paid off all the right people, had the whole route laid out, and organized the shipments. Then, their crew didn't follow one of the steps and tried to bribe a port authority officer that I had clearly marked as 'unbribable'." The annoyance at their stupidity created heat in his stomach and came out in his hardened tone. "The shipment was opened and they lost it all plus the men accompanying it have been arrested. They said I was responsible. I disagreed. We negotiated the terms."

The voice from behind spoke. Ivan thought, then asked a question. "Is the route still able to be used?"

Johnny felt a thread of hope appear. "Yes, as long as the steps are followed to the letter." His obsessive tendencies had served him well in this project.

"Tell me more. I must understand how it is done."

Johnny tipped his head to the side and eyed Ivan, "Why are you interested?"

Ivan tapped a finger on his folded arms, as if he was taking time to make a decision. Then he nodded, "You may have heard of my associate's shotgun?" Johnny nodded, he had watched the game through a web camera mounted on one of the support posts. "We have an import business as well. New Orleans would be a useful hub for us."

Ivan had just slipped up and given him the organization he was connected to; Johnny was happy as they would be good friends to have. "I can give you names and locations, but not the times and process steps. You would have to release me to get those."

"You do enjoy negotiating." Ivan bared his teeth in a grin. "I agree to your terms."

The thread of hope burst into a hot flame. Not only had he bargained for his life, he may have made a new business associate. "First of all, you must sail into a specific pier…"


	13. Chapter 13

**Come What May**

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters or the shows.  
 **A/N:** Thanks to Persalleshipper101, ivanacindy, Britt and Santosh for dropping reviews!

* * *

 _Chapter 13_

 _Just_

 _don't_

 _move…_

Deeks kept his breathing under control by repeating his instructions to his limbs over and over in his mind.

He felt his leg about to twitch so he squeezed his eyes shut tighter and pinched his side to supress his urge to move.

 _You can do this._

 _Just_

 _don't_

 _move…_

* * *

Sam shifted in his chair and caused it to start squeaking again. Kensi sighed and Sam felt the annoyance build. It was beginning to pressurize in his stomach and he had to remind himself that Kensi wasn't the reason for his pain. The cause was the empty chair beside Kensi. Sam pressed his lips together as he ran through Hetty's explanation for the missing agent and detective.

 _"A case has pulled Mr. Deeks and Mr. Callen into the field. I expect they will be gone for a time."_

 _Sam shook his head. "How did the two of them wander off together again? They didn't say anything."_

 _"I understand it fell into their laps and they reacted accordingly. I will keep you notified as necessary." Hetty clasped her hands behind her back._

 _"Why does this feel like some secret mission?"_

 _Hetty pursed her lips, "I can assure you this is no conspiracy. They'll be back soon."_

'Soon', Sam thought. 'Soon' was a couple of hours. This was the morning of the third day and his impatience was rising. As if on cue, Hetty appeared in front of his desk.

"Mr. Hanna, you're needed at the boat shed. An agent is there to brief you on an old case that has warmed."

Kensi's head popped up. "What about me?"

"Miss Blye, I need you and Miss Jones at a local recruiting office. They have a complaint that needs resolution." Kensi nodded and headed upstairs to grab Nell. "Sam, it is important that you listen first and ask questions later. It is a complicated case and I know you are the appropriate choice."

Sam's eyes narrowed. He wanted to ask again about Callen but something in Hetty's face made him change his mind. Instead, he gave a curt nod and grabbed his jacket.

* * *

Pride watched as Deeks subtly pinched himself. Now he understood when Deeks had loudly protested having to stay still for an extended period of time. No problems with Callen smacking him around, the fake injuries – which the LA team were strangely good at creating – or the squibs taped to his chest. No, his unhappiness stemmed from laying down. He hadn't seen someone so annoyed at taking a nap since his daughter Laurel had announced that she was old for them. But for now, he pushed those musings away and focused on what was happening on the other side of the pool of light.

He couldn't believe the information they were collecting about this smuggling route into the port. Callen guided Johnny through the process, pressing for information at certain stages, and keeping the man talking when he seemed to want to stop. Then, something didn't make sense. He nudged Patton who swung his keyboard over to Pride. Dwayne typed in a question, then Patton put it into a translator and spit it out in a man's voice through the speaker set up on a pole.

Callen paused his pacing and posed the question in English to Johnny. His answer cleared the confusion so Dwayne clicked a small flashlight on and off, which signalled Callen to continue. He started his route across the space in front of Johnny's chair and kept asking questions in his accented voice.

Finally, the stream of data had slowed to a crawl and Pride felt that there was enough to certainly close some holes at the port. He flicked the light twice, which to Callen meant he could wrap up the interrogation.

" _Da_ , I feel you have fulfilled your part." Callen halted, crossed his arms, and nodded. "I will not kill you. I will bring you to the airport so you can go back to west coast."

Pride watched on the computer monitor that showed a shot of Johnny's face which was presently smiling. "Good, I'm glad." Then the smile dropped off. "But…"

"What, do you not think it is good deal?"

"No…" Johnny grimaced. "The laptop with all this information is in some federal cops' hands. Naval Investigation or something."

Callen bared his teeth. "We will take care of them. No need to worry about other group either, we will remove them from the equation."

Johnny nodded in agreement. "I think you have met your side of the deal as well."

"Good." Callen nodded.

A dart shot out of the darkness and imbedded itself in Johnny's shoulder. His head wavered, then dropped to his chest. Percy walked into the light carrying a dart gun, followed closely by Loretta. The doctor checked Johnny, nodded that he was unconscious, and then moved to Deeks. Callen was already at his side and together they lifted him into the wheelchair LaSalle had pushed into position.

Deeks grunted as he plucked the squibs off of his chest. "Y'know, these things hurt. I'm going to be bruised."

Loretta rolled her eyes. "You're complaining about a few small bruises yet you completely ignore your broken leg."

"No one has ever accused him of being fully rational." Callen rolled his eyes as he pulled off his suit jacket.

"Me? You're the one leading our merry band of insanity." Deeks snorted.

Callen flipped his chin in the air and handed the suit jacket back to LaSalle. "Thanks for the rental. Is there a reason there's glitter in the pocket and it smells like beer?"

LaSalle threw the coat over his shoulder. "It's from an old Halloween costume."

Pride smiled to himself, with LaSalle, that excuse covered a lot of strange things. "Watch your eyes!" Pride yelled as he pulled the lever to turn on the lights in the warehouse. Everyone groaned as their eyes adjusted to the light.

Callen squinted at Pride, "What do you think, did we give more than we got?"

Pride nodded as he dropped his hands on his hips. "We'll share this information with the Coast Guard, Port Authority's security branch, and the police. It'll do some good to close up these loopholes." He stepped forward to join the circle and stuck his hand out to shake Callen's and Deek's hands. "Ya'll are invited back anytime."

"Maybe not too soon, though." LaSalle tipped his lips into a frown.

"And maybe you should call first." Percy added.

As everyone else searched for something to say, the partners shared a look and then started laughing. "Naw, anytime, guys. Though it might be fun to come out your way next." LaSalle slapped Callen on the back.

"Let's get this all cleaned up and we'll have you on your way home." Pride held his arms out to start herding everyone towards the door. "Loretta, LaSalle, please deliver Johnny to his destination."

"Got it boss." LaSalle grabbed a gurney while Loretta prepped her patient. Everyone else moved towards the cars, discussing the events of the past few hours.

* * *

Sam nodded at the agent watching the door. He nodded back and then left the building, his job complete. Sam's contact was standing with her back to the entrance, obviously comfortable that nothing bad was going to happen to her. He paused, her stance looked familiar, maybe he had worked with her before. Then she turned.

"Weiser." It was a statement as Sam had worked with her.

"Hanna, it's been some time." She shook his hand and they moved to the table, as though gravity was pulling them there.

"Too long." Sam shook his head. "I should've followed up more."

Weiser placed a hand on his. "I would've dodged you anyway. I was hurting and nothing could fix it. Not work, not booze, not even Hetty."

Sam pressed his lips together. "You look better."

She smiled, and it almost reached her eyes. "I found a purpose working with victims of senseless crimes. Apparently my degree in sociology is good for more than just getting me into the academy." She shifted in her seat. "Law enforcement doesn't draw me in the way it used to; but if I can't prevent crime, I can help people cope with it."

"I'm glad, Susan, but if you're not with NCIS anymore, what are you doing here?"

She cocked an eyebrow. "Hetty called and even if I'm not an agent, that's not something you ignore."

"Why did she call you?" Sam had suspicions, but they were too impossible to voice.

"It's time to tie up a loose end." At Sam's narrowed eyes she nodded and the smile finally reached her eyes. "For McCoy."


	14. Chapter 14

**Come What May**

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters or the shows.  
 **A/N:** Thanks to ivanacindy, Persalleshipper101 (there's a bonus in here for you), Guest, Britt, JONI, Guest (merci!), and Elvira25 for leaving reviews.

* * *

Trepidation clawed up her spine and she clenched her jaw, wishing it away. She stole a glance at Sam in the driver seat, stoic and relaxed, and felt the unease back down. Weiser blew out a breath and focused on what was before them which was something she had so badly wanted years ago. Now, after time had passed and she found herself on a new path, she still wanted it, but the desire wasn't burning up her insides.

"I have something for you." Sam's voice broke into her self-psychoanalyzing.

She looked around, they were stopped just down the block from where they needed to be, a second car of agents patiently waiting across the road. "What is it?"

Sam pulled out a familiar black wallet. "This is your arrest, Susan."

Weiser took it and cradled it in her hand, rubbing her thumb over the gold shield. Slowly she opened it and saw the credentials inside. The picture was a few haircuts out of date, but she had been experimenting lately. "How?"

"You still have your agent status even though you've moved over to victim services. You just don't need to carry the badge anymore."

She peered at Sam, suspicious. "Where did you get this?"

He was serious, "Hetty gave it to me. Probably had it stashed somewhere in her desk waiting for this day." He looked towards their destination, "Ready?"

A smirk formed on her face without hesitation, "Oh yeah." She jammed the wallet into her belt. "Let's do this."

Sam grinned, "Lead on, Wise!"

* * *

Johnny groaned. He didn't think he could've found a more uncomfortable position to wake up in, yet here he was with an aching back and sore cheek. It took effort to pull his eyelids open and he grunted at this new view. A brick wall with peeling paint dimly lit by a flickering light. He rolled his eyes down to find the source of his cheek pain – a steel table pillow. Lifting his hands to push himself off the table, he discovered that his wrists were cuffed together.

"What is this?" He mumbled as he took in the rest of the small room. It looked strangely like a…an interrogation room.

"Morning sleeping beauty." A woman pushed open the door and slapped a file folder on the table. She hopped down into the chair opposite him and gave him a smug grin. "How was your nap?"

"Where am I?" Johnny was annoyed that he found himself at a disadvantage for the second time in…he didn't actually know what day it was. "What time is it?"

"I'm Detective Monroe and you are presently a guest of the New Orleans Police Department. You showed up on our doorstop with a quite the story attached." She opened the file to show him a sheaf of typed papers. "This is a transcript of a recording between you and a" she squinted at the name scrawled on the top page "Special Agent Callen of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Since he's based out of the west coast, he didn't have the time or resources to follow it up."

Johnny's mouth gaped open. "But…but…he shot Neil!"

The detective shrugged. "No evidence of that in the recording, but it wouldn't be the first time an agent has put one asset in prison to keep another asset in the field."

"What do you mean?" Johnny's brow furrowed.

Monroe shifted in her seat, "You may have believed he was dead, but Neil's probably back out acting as a confidential informant. This Agent Callen may have decided he was the more valuable one." She laid her hand on the papers. "He might have thought he'd wrung as much information out as you could give. As it sits right now, you're looking at a long stay with our illustrious prison system. The only reason you're not locked in the Coast Guard brig is because this agent dropped you here."

Johnny narrowed his eyes, he didn't like where this was going. "If I had more, what would it be worth to you?"

The detective tipped her chin up, "Right now you're headed for the local jail, but you could work yourself into a federal pen."

Criminals talked and Johnny had listened to enough advice over the years. He knew what he had to do. "I suggest you find yourself a pad of paper, because that's a deal I want."

Monroe smiled. "I'll be right back."

* * *

Percy flicked at LaSalle's sleeve. He raised an eyebrow at her and she pointed at the plastic bag LaSalle was presently trying to work out of the wire fence.

"What?" LaSalle raised his shoulders as in confusion.

"Can you leave the garbage alone? We have a suspect to arrest."

LaSalle snorted, "I am tryin' to beautify my fair city."

Sonja looked around at the debris scattered across the dock yard and sighed. "I think you have a big job in this dump. How does the Navy allow their yard to look like this?"

Chris shrugged, "Maybe nobody's been disciplined lately and forced to pick garbage." He gave a tug. "There! One piece freed from its unnatural home." He lifted it as if it was a trophy and stalked over to the dumpster. Sonja rolled her eyes as he hefted the lid up and flung the bag in. She burst out laughing when a different bag from the other side of the dumpster escaped and blew over to a spot mere feet away from the original bag's position.

"I guess we know how it got there in the first place."

LaSalle dropped his hands on his hips and shook his head.

"Chin up, LaSalle, our new friend's just coming in." She jerked her chin at the group of Seamen coming towards the building. They waited until the crew was closer and then approached.

"Petty Officer Santiago?" Sonja called.

A tall man turned and grinned in her direction. "Depends on who's asking." Sonja resisted the urge to roll her eyes. This was a man who clearly used his muscles and smile to get through life. She felt LaSalle come up behind her shoulder.

"Oh, just a deadly NCIS agent and her partner." LaSalle drawled. Percy could hear the humour in his voice and she appreciated his support.

The smile dropped off Santiago's face and he planted his feet as if readying himself to make a move. "What do you want?" An edge came into his voice and Percy began to worry that he would do something stupid, like try to outrun the dynamic duo. Although, this was one suspect she would enjoy watching LaSalle clothesline.

"Well, we're curious about your bank account with half a million dollars in it. The money seems to have come from a more disreputable source than the US Navy." LaSalle eased his arms back to his hips and Sonja unfolded her arms because their guns were tucked in back holsters.

"Wait. You said you were broke the last time we went drinking." A Petty Officer behind Santiago pushed forward and glared at their target.

"Yeah, and you never paid me back for those concert tickets." Another beside him scowled.

"And what about that loan 'you just can't pay back'?" A voice piped up from the back.

LaSalle moved beside Percy and they shared a look, this could go bad.

They were right, because Santiago went to run. But they were wrong, because two of the disgruntled friends grabbed him and threw him to the ground. They pulled his arms behind his back and then concert-tickets looked up. "What would you like us to do with him?"

Percy looked at LaSalle and he shrugged. She pulled out her handcuffs and handed them over. He was quickly cuffed, lifted to his feet, and handed over. LaSalle took possession and guided him towards the truck while Percy read him his rights. They stuck him in the back seat and both shrugged at how the arrest went down.

"One down, a syndicate left to go." Percy stated as she opened the passenger door.


End file.
